Photobook Interviews: Nisa Kasnoon

Say hello to Nisa Kasnoon! Nisa is a Broadcast Journalist from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and she’s been in the business for over 9 years now. She’s also a News Anchor for Astro Awani, a satellite TV news channel station. Always on the move, we managed to catch up to her whilst on one of her assignments for an interview.

*Astro Awani is a 24-hours 7-days a week in-house news and current affairs channel in Malaysia, under the local satellite TV subscription, Astro.

1. Hi Nisa! Thanks for chatting with us. So… please tell us about yourself!Well I grew up in Kuala Lumpur all my life and I’ve always wanted to be a News Reporter ever since I was small. I took up Mass Communication in University and went on to work with Astro, a local direct broadcast satellite (DBS) Pay TV service, in 2007.

I enjoy traveling, reading, and to be honest, instagramming as well! And my career enables me to really fulfill that and more. Maybe except reading, I really have to squeeze time in for that.

And I’m an Aquarius!

2. How did you become a News Anchor for Astro Awani?I started off as a Broadcast Journalist when I first joined Astro Awani, and then made my way up as News Anchor. It’s crucial for each News Anchors to proficiently do a live feed; so we were all trained from day one to know how to cover various news topics.

3. Broadcast Journalists always seem to be where the action is! Tell us about some of the more memorable stories you’ve covered.Each new day is a new challenge, and these challenges gives us rich new experiences. But I would say the most memorable story I’ve covered thus far would be the MH370 incident. The tragedy had placed a lot of pain and heartache on the entire country (Malaysia), and our ability and credibility as a journalist were thoroughly tested. I understood that as a Broadcast Journalist, it was my duty to report the news as accurate as possible based on facts from official sources.

4. What and/or who are your influences?Apart from a deep, resonating interest, my mother is my biggest inspiration. She is my #1 fan, and biggest critique. My close circle of friends are also my biggest support system.

5. Are the working hours really as crazy as we hear it to be?Haha! Yeah that’s true. Our working hours can get pretty erratic and there’s no such thing as a public holiday for us. No 9 to 5 for us! We’re always on standby, even when we’re “off the clock”, because we need to be right there as the story unfolds. We have to travel anywhere and everywhere to catch the news so it gets pretty crazy.

6. Tell us about some of your achievements.I’ve gained a handful of awards and recognition through the years on my reports for consumers and local news coverage from the Screen Awards (2012), and the Award for Journalism by the Ministry of Health (2015, 2014 and 2013) as well as the Ministry of Domestic Trade, Co-Operatives and Consumerism (Television) (2015).*Note: Nisa was nominated for multiple award categories.

These awards mean a lot to me as it meant my hard work is acknowledged, and that further strengthens my obsession over my passion. I hold high regards to my work, and I want to produce high quality report, to write with heart and to be able to touch people’s heart and change people’s perspective for the better through my reports. I also want to set (and even become) the benchmark of excellent news presentation.

I was also asked to participate in a reality tv show as a mentor where other mentors and myself would guide contestants on how to be a Broadcast Journalist, a Movie Director and a Sing Composer. I found it to be very interesting, as I shared my experiences and coached the contestants on how to do what I now do for a living. Teaching isn’t an easy thing to do but I nevertheless had a lot of fun.

I’m also now a co-host for #fitAWANI, which is a programme that features not only exercise and fitness, but also on tips on how to lead a healthier lifestyle.

7. What quality or personal traits do you think are important to have in your career?Well like any other thing, you definitely need to have PASSION to better thrust yourself forward on both personal and professional levels. FOCUS and ATTITUDE is a big deal as well because it plays a crucial role in steering you down the path. It’s a fairly demanding job so you need all three qualities to give you the right patience and resilience to perform.

Follow Nisa on her Instagram and Twitter (nisakasnoon)to see her latest updates!

*Nisa is a repeat customer of Photobook Malaysia, and is fan of our Canvas Prints! Check it out right HERE!